Twists - A Series of Short Fictions
by LabyLoverLaurie
Summary: Explorations on various ideas. How different actions may have created different results. Alterations on commonly accepted beliefs.
1. Twisted

Introduction to the Series  
  
These short fictions are all borne of my imagination, when I began to wonder, "What if…?" Some of them are dark. Some of them are light-hearted. All of them are different ways to view the movie we all love.  
  
I will add one or two at a time, as they come to me. Already a few more are in the works. If you wish to use one of my ideas, please ask me, and I will likely give you permission, to start from where I left off. I do not plan on elaborating any further on the stories I begin. Perhaps, in time, I will, but that is not the purpose of these fictions.  
  
I will post the disclaimer here, because otherwise it may be longer than the fictions themselves. All characters and places in the movie The Labyrinth are the property of Jim Henson, Inc. or whatever company owns them. I do not make any profit from these stories. I only satisfy the sick curiosity of my mind.  
  
So open your perceptions, allow the twists to engage your thoughts. Let your imagination run away with you, exploring all the different turns of what might have been.  
  
Allow your mind to become like mine- twisted. 


	2. Twist 1

Jareth glanced at the broken figure that lay at his feet. He grimaced slightly, but a triumphant grin soon overtook his features. The chestnut hair, matted to her face and clothing, blood soaking her head from the rough contact with the stone street, her beautiful eyes, eternally staring in shock. Holding the same expression as when one of his goblin soldiers ran his spear through her.  
  
It really was a waste of such a beautiful girl... but such things could not be helped. He took one last look at the girl who was so determined to defeat him and regain her little brother. His gaze then turned to the subjects who had assisted the girl in her journey; their forms, although varying in size, sharing the same violent convulsing of fear. He waved a hand, and they dissipated at once, returning to the vapors from which they were formed. He had little time to waste on them.  
  
He turned to leave, but remembering the body on the ground, he turned back. Glancing down distastefully, he shifted the body slightly with his foot, before sending the crumpled corpse of the girl to feed the bog. He rolled his eyes skyward, wondering at the girl's determination.  
  
Honestly, he couldn't really have allowed Sarah to beat him, could he? 


	3. Twist 2

Jareth sighed, pained over the loss of Sarah. Of course, it was something to be expected. "...the king had fallen in love with the girl..." And it was true. He *did* love her. Just like he loved every other girl who read the book. That was his curse.  
  
He honestly believed that the girls had it easier. When females lost themselves in fantasy, their punishment was to face him. They all won; they all returned home. But not the same; no, never the same. They were undeniably altered, ruined for living in their world. A majority of them took their own lives within the first two years of their return.  
  
But him- males in general. If they gave themselves over to fantasy, this was the punishment that awaited them. They had to live as the King of this land, always falling in love, and losing her, for however long it took the next young boy to find the novel, to read the words, to wish someone away. Then, and only then, could his place be relinquished.  
  
What would happen next, he had no idea. Returning to the world he had come from seemed like a Heaven, but a Hell all at once. How could he readjust himself, after being here- what was it, 4 years? Of course, he wasn't sure how swiftly time moved Aboveground... or how slowly. Or perhaps it moved differently for different people- he  
  
wasn't sure. But he wasn't sure what kind of life he could expect after this, if any.  
  
But he was so tired of this existence, surely anything would be better than this.  
  
He sighed again as he heard the words called. He really didn't understand the sexism inherent in this system. But as he assumed the shape of an owl, he could do nothing but hope that this child was male. 


	4. Twist 3

"So the Labyrinth's a piece of cake, is it? Let's see how you deal with this little slice…" A small gesture of his hands, and a crystal ball appeared. The Goblin King turned and threw it behind them.  
  
Instantly, Sarah could hear the sounds of blades, rubbing against each other, and of wheels, bringing those blades closer and closer. The heavy rumbling held her stunned, until the dwarf at her side yelled, "Oh no, the Cleaners!"  
  
"What?!" she screamed, terror pulsing through her veins.  
  
"RUN!" And they took off down the tunnel.  
  
Just a few seconds later, they slammed into the gate closing off the rest of the tunnel, deciding their fate for them. Sarah glanced to her right, noticing the flimsy wall. She began pushing, and Hoggle soon joined in, standing to her left, as the Cleaners got closer and closer.  
  
The Cleaners seemed almost on top of them, when the wall began to give way.  
  
But it wasn't soon enough to keep the ugly blades from taking Sarah's legs from the knees down.  
  
Outside the tunnel, there lied a maze. And beyond the maze, there was a city. And beyond that city there was a castle. And inside that castle, sprawled on a throne, was The Goblin King, gazing into a crystal. He shook his head sadly, and murmured, "Such a pity. A terrible waste of perfectly lovely legs." 


	5. Twist 4

"You seem like such a nice beast." A brief moment of hesistation. "Well, I certainly hope you are what you seem. Just hold on, I'll get you down."  
  
Sarah pulled the loosely tied rope, and the monster dropped to the ground. "Oh! I'm sorry!" She helped the beast rise to its feet.  
  
"Fwend? Ludo… Fwend." The beast went to hug the girl, who backed away a bit, but allowed the attention.  
  
In an instant, the monster had ripped of her head and drank her blood contentedly through her neck. He would have eaten her head, but there was too much hair.  
  
Jareth was outraged. His guards had been trying for months to capture that monster. "Ludo!" He spit the name out. That beast was one of the most clever, and deadly, ones in his Labyrinth. And that fool girl had to go and release him, with her misguided notions of fairness. He shook his head, disgusted. She only got what she had deserved. Now he had to call out the Guard and tell them that the dreaded beast was on the loose again. 


	6. Twist 5

"You have no power over me." And the clock rang thirteen.  
  
And Sarah waited. And waited. Expecting maybe a flash of light, some sudden change of location. But nothing happened. She glanced towards the Goblin King, confused.  
  
In turn, Jareth burst into chilling laughter. "Foolish girl," he spat. "Did you think you had until the thirteenth toll? The clock begins chiming when the minute hand strikes thirteen, not before."  
  
Sarah began shaking, not believing what she had just been told. A look of pure scorn came over the King's features.  
  
"And now you must go back to your little world, Sarah. And wait until your parents return, and try to explain why the child isn't there. You must live your life knowing the truth of what you have done, with the guilt of your actions hanging over you." Jareth read her eyes, and spoke again. "And you'll not be able to kill yourself- nay, I won't allow that. So enjoy, Sarah." He pointed behind her, down a hall towards a door that had just appeared. He halted her, and said maliciously: "Would you like to see your baby brother now?"  
  
"No!" She gasped, turning to flee down the hall. But an image was burnt into her mind, of an ugly little goblin with a tuft of blond hair, and tear streaks down its face. And she knew that she would never be able to forget. 


End file.
